The Absent Door
by tokenblackguy
Summary: He was nothing more than the Illusive man's errand boy, tasked with doing anything he ordered without question. Yet when tasked to find a way on the Normandy and spy for him, he will have to help save the galaxy while hiding his identity.
1. Prologue

**The Absent Door**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything about Mass Effect…everything about it belongs to Bioware.

**Little more than 4 hours after

John Shepard has been declared a

Spectre and the hunt for Saren has begun**

Even as Isaac Haymond looked down upon the group of turians with his Thunder III assault rifle trained on them in case one decided to play hero. Each turian seemed to glare back at him with defiance and anger lit in their eyes. Behind the group of turians who sat on their knees, hands behind their back, and stripped of their armor, was a deep canyon that stretched for miles as far as the eye could see. The sky of planet Theyar gave the soil, water, and even the plants a pinkish glow that made him think of some sort of flower. In the far distance he could see the many thunderstorms that plagued the planet seemingly fighting to top one another in an amazing display of lightning.

The sudden beeping of his omni-tool snapped him back to the reality that he hated so much. He glanced down briefly to bring up the message making sure to keep his rifle trained on the nearest turian. The message was short and to the point. Get rid of them. He closed down his omni-tool and glanced once more at the turians who had caused so many problems. Originally there had been 20 or so of them, doing what they could to wreak havoc and destroy any facilities they came across.

That had been until he was called in to find them all and put them down to ensure the disruptions ceased. It had been easy enough. Look at the destruction and evidence they left behind before following their pattern of movement until he had caught up to them. Then it had turned into a deadly game of hunting, he wasn't some assassin who hunted his prey in the dark of night using knifes and hand-to-hand combat to kill. Isaac was someone who, as some would put it, went "loud". Walking into a building shooting precisely and methodically in the middle of the day when it was busiest was his preferred method. He had mercilessly eradicated every last turian in the group, making sure to leave a message for the others…he was coming for them. Isaac had them living in fear. Never knowing when he would strike next or who would be his next victim left the turians to only be sure of one thing: their end was near.

The five fools in front of him had decided to leave together in a pack, thinking that there was strength in numbers. Yet, here they were. Unfortunately for them, with just the right amount of credits and force he was able to get onto the transport taking them off the previous world. Imagine the looks on their faces as they relaxed in the passenger area and the door opened with him standing there in full gear. They had surrendered without a fight after they took note of all the innocent civilians scared around them. After making sure the pilots took a little detour to Theyar, he forced each turian off the transport as it took off and slipped into space. Now each one of them was on their knees in front of him, soon to be dead just like their comrades.

"Get up and line up on the edge of the canyon, NOW!" Isaac ordered fiercely, prodding the nearest turian with his rifle.

"How does it feel to be nothing but trash, human?" The turian with dark carapace and white paint across his face said as he smirked.

Isaac glanced at him and smiled lightly before bringing his rifle to bear front of the turian and pulling the trigger. The turian had a brief look of surprise before half of his face was torn off, spraying blue blood into the air as the body tipped backwards before flying off the edge of the cliff and disappearing. Three of the turians jumped at the sudden gun shot and called out a name which Isaac noted was most likely the recently dead turian's name. Seconds later they each turned to him as the grim reality of their fate began to finally settle in.

Isaac looked at them each briefly in the eye, one by one, and noticed that one of the turians on the end seemed calm and at peace. He also hadn't jumped when Isaac had shot the other turian. Hell, the guy didn't even blink.

"I've always been nothing but trash…doing dark things just for money and for my own personal reasons. That won't change anytime soon, even after I kill each of you. I'm sure there's a dark place for the likes of me when I die." Isaac muttered more to himself than the turians in front of him.

He shifted his sight to the next turian in the line before pulling the trigger and watching the accelerator rounds rip through the turian's body, throwing it off the edge and into the canyon below. One of the turians screamed something before taking one look at Isaac then jumping off the edge of the cliff screaming to his death. For a second, Isaac just stared at the spot where the turian had been, trying to wrap his head around the thought of the turian having to watch the ground get closer before slamming into the canyon floor. He, himself, would have rather have been shot, but it was stupid to think that everyone wanted to die this way.

"Anyone else want to jump to their death like your friend?" He asked. "It's one helluva drop though, so you might be falling through the air for a minute. Hell, you might even be able to see your friend falling if you jump quick enough."

The last two turians shook their heads but the calm turian stepped forward placing himself next in line to be killed.

"If you are to kill me, human, then I request that you shoot me in the head and make it quick."

Isaac took note of the turian's features making sure to remember them as this was the first time anyone he would kill would face their death so bravely. Even for a turian he was taller than most and seemed to have a dark carapace along with dark paint across his face. He bore some scars along his arms, legs, and face which showed he was experienced enough in combat. His eyes were filled with many emotions but the one thing that stood out to Isaac was the calm look he had in his eyes.

"You were just like me when I was younger human...doing things that tear you apart deep down and make you hate yourself. The life you live right now will only lead you down a darker path until you end up destroying yourself. It's not too late…to escape that fate like I did."

"How do you know?" Isaac asked.

"Look at me." Was all the turian said calmly.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"It will come to you in time…isn't that what you humans say? I suggest you finish up your mission…I heard your leader can be very impatient."

Isaac stared blankly at the turian in front of him before nodding quickly then lifting his rifle up and letting off a single shot directly in between the turian's eye sending his body over the edge. He then turned quickly to the last turian before doing the same sending the last body into the canyon and ending his mission. He turned slowly, tapping his communicator on his ear and radioing for pickup while walking away from the edge. As he walked away from the scene, the fearless turian's face kept popping up into his mind seconds before he shot him. The calm without a smile look he had on his face as Isaac had shot him wouldn't go away. He gripped the little hair he had on his head muttering to himself to calm down over and over trying to get the thought of what had just happened out of his head. He wasn't affected by people pleading for their lives so why the hell was this getting to him.

The loud thrusters of the approaching shuttle ship made him snap back to reality. He watched as the transport ship hovered briefly before slowly coming down in front of him. The door swung open suddenly as the co-pilot glanced down at him briefly before sticking his hand out for Isaac to grab.

"He wants to see you…"

**One hour later **

Isaac glanced at his own reflection patiently waiting for the elevator to come to a stop and its doors to open to the communication room. It was becoming hard to look at his own reflection without hating everything about who he use to be and what he became. When he had first started to become a mercenary four years ago, it had been out of desperation for credits, so he took any and all jobs that came his way. He had liked it at first. The jobs he started out with didn't require him to do much at all, guarding a shipment, roughing up someone, being a bodyguard to some important person, etc. He had been scrawny with hardly any muscle to him, but he had been in shape, being raised on the streets of Earth had required him to be. Isaac had just been another black kid on the streets with no family and had ran with gangs not knowing what else to do but when had been given the chance he ditched that life never looking back, stowing away on a transport ship going to a far away station. That had lead to the mercenary job after he couldn't scrap up anything and no one wanted to hire him to do a real official job when he didn't have any credentials or identification on him.

From there he had begun the downward spiral to where he was today. He could still remember the first mercenary mission where it had changed. The client had lied and withheld information from, him then tried to betray and kill him. By the time everything had ended, he had killed 7 people and somehow mistakenly killed four innocent people in cold blood. He had drunk himself silly that day to forget the screams and decided to let himself go with the flow.

Stupid as hell? Yea, but he never wanted to stoop so low as to kill people. Especially innocent people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he proved himself wrong. After that incident his life had changed and so began the dirty jobs which consisted of hits, smuggling drug shipments, or whatever else came his way until he was offered a proposition to come work for **him**. He liked that Isaac produced results every job and felt his talents were being wasted and so with little thought he became **his** personal errand boy. Isaac was assigned to get rid of someone, ensure a delivery made it to the right destination without any distractions, ensure that base leaders were on schedule for the projects given, or whatever else he wanted but along with that Isaac was required to bulk up. **He **didn't tolerate anything but the best and ordered Isaac to go through special combat training and combat exercises repeatedly to fine tune his abilities. He went from being a scrawny180 pound but fit mercenary to a well toned 220 pound muscular killing machine.

"Please enter, he has something very important he wishes to discuss with you." The assistant that had accompanied him informed him of.

Isaac nodded as the elevator doors opened and he followed the aid down a hallway to an opening in a dark room. As he stepped forward a circular white ring spread around before freezing and projecting an image before him. A giant red and blue planet glowed fiercely in the back with the very surface moving as if it was alive while stars littered the space around it creating the illusion that the planet was real. The room illuminated by the planet glowed red and in the middle sat the person he answered to and who paid him.

The illusive man seemingly sat before him in this room sitting down smoking his cigar regarding Isaac with his steely blue eyes and gazed at him with no emotion on his face.

"I want to congratulate you on a job well done again, Isaac. You continue to amaze me and never fail an assignment. I am glad I made the right choice in recruiting you. That turian group has been a thorn in my side for quite some time now and thanks to you my facilities can breathe a bit easier. You may be wondering why I am rushing you here on such short notice but something important has come to my attention and I believe you are best man for the job." The illusive man blew a cloud of cigar smoke into the air staring at something or someone Isaac couldn't see.

"As you may have heard from reports or rumors, the colony of Eden Prime was attacked by the Geth. Who haven't been seen past the veil in many years and left the colony in complete ruin and thousands dead."

Isaac nodded his head but was still confused about where the illusive man was going with this but yet he could feel that he wouldn't like it at all.

"Through some of my higher up…let's say contacts, I've learned that the geth were being led by a now rogue turian Spectre named Saren. Right now Saren has fled but Commander Shepard who just recently became the first human Spectre to represent humanity has given chase."

Isaac took the chance when the illusive man paused to jump in. "I'm sorry but what does this have to do with me? Why not leave this Saren guy to Commander Shepard?"

The illusive man glanced at Isaac, as if annoyed by his question.

"While I do believe the hero of Elysium and one of the greatest N7 operative can handle this problem, something tells me there is more to this than meets the eye. I have…history with Saren and for him to be leading the geth now means something has happened to change him from the man he use to be. I need someone I can trust on the inside along with Shepard who can keep an eye out on everything happening and inform me on what the Council and Alliance don't want everyone to know. This is where you come in, Isaac." The illusive man stood up and began to pace back and forth in the dark room.

Isaac could already feel the headache from this assignment coming on and rubbed his face with his hands. He didn't sign up to be a spy for the illusive man and hell he sucked at lying but he owed him and knew he couldn't refuse.

The Illusive man stopped to look at Isaac once again while making a motion with his hand. "I have prepared Shepard's dossier as well as Lt. Kaiden Alenko and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams so that you know enough about them to prepare yourself. My contact on the frigate SSV Normandy that Shepard commands informs me that he has a turian, a krogan, and quarian onboard helping him. I can't give you any information on them so prepare yourself accordingly. Shepard as we can tell is headed to pick up a missing asari scientist who may have a lead to Saren but you will beat him there. Right now as we speak, the frigate you're on is headed towards Therum in the Knossos system after my surveillance teams reported geth activity on the planet's surface and orbit. While we have no guarantees that she is there, the fact that Shepard and the geth are looking her is good reason to believe she is on that planet. You are to rescue the scientist and use her to become a part of Shepard's little group and assist him in any way possible while providing me with updates after every mission. Make sure your cover is **NOT **blown, Isaac. This is an assignment you can't fail. If you must kill anyone who gets in your way, the contact on the Normandy will come to you when the opportunity presents itself."

As he stared into the Illusive man's eyes, he could see the hidden threat behind his words and knew his life would be riding on this.

"Now go Isaac, you don't have time to waste. I expect to hear from you shortly and that you have made it onto the ship with no problems."

Isaac nodded once before turning around and walking out the circle and through the doors. The assistant was outside waiting for him with folders in her hands.

"Read these as you are en route to the location. You will only have 30 minutes to remember as much as you can. Your gear and weapons have already been loaded on to the shuttle."

The assistant was speaking a mile a minute while walking at a fast past requiring Isaac to keep up. She walked to the airlock doors for the shuttle and pressed the button, opening them before handing him the dossiers and ushering him inside.

Isaac watched the doors close slowly before he felt the shuttle jerk as it detached from the station and took off. He glanced down at the folders before sighing deeply…

"God dammit."

* * *

><p>Author: Hello there this is my first mass effect fanfiction story so bear with me. I've wanted to type up one for a while but my lazy side decided it against it multiple times. If I continue the story will first play through the the first mass effect and based upon your reviews I will decide to continue to mass effect 2. For the prologue I wanted the reader to get a little bit of background knowledge as well as the direction I'm trying to go but I want to try to increase the length as well as add more action. Can't say for sure how long this story will be if I finish but most major missions will a chapter as well as a few assignments that can help further the story. Well that is about it for right now, I hope you enjoy my story and I hope to not disappoint.<p>

Special thanks to my amazing proofreader and editor. I have horrible grammar and I apparently hate commas, she did an amazing job finding things I could improve on and fix and for that I'm grateful. Still I will be beating you at Mario Kart 64 when we are old wrinkly people and YOU will be wearing that cosby sweater when you lose.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing about the Mass Effect universe…this all belongs to Bioware.

Chapter 1: Play the Part

Isaac glanced at the dossiers as his mind was racing a mile a minute trying to figure out how the hell did he end up in this position and why did the illusive man think this was so damn important. If he really felt like this could something big that he needed a spy, why didn't he use one of his undercover operatives instead? Now Isaac was inbound to some planet with an unknown number of geth just to find some scientist that could be used to help join Shepard's crew. He couldn't help but feel that all of this was bullshit and would end up getting him killed.

"15 minutes until we reach the dropzone, sensors are picking up a small geth concentration around some prothean ruins. The scientist you're looking for must be around that area" One of the yelled pilots yelled through the cockpit door at him.

Isaac sighed once again knowing that this wasn't going to be an easy task to accomplish. He glanced down at the Commander Shepard's dossier and took note of the important information that would most likely come in handy.

'_Born April 11, 2154 and has spent his life aboard ships moving place to place. Mother is Hannah Shepard serving aboard the SSV Kilimanjaro and his father passed away some time ago. The war hero who held the line against batarian slavers until the alliance fleet arrived and became a hero who was award the Star of Terra. Classified as a vanguard that excels at close combat and melee.'_

Isaac noted that besides the information he read, past conflicts Shepard has been a part of, his N7 file there wasn't much to go on about Shepard's personality. He turned his attention to the Kaidan Alenko's dossier and memorizing certain information that seemed relevant.

'_Exposed to element zero because of the Singapore incident and was one of the lucky ones not to get terminal brain cancer. He was later selected to attend BAaT training and due to an incident killed Commander Vyrnnus, a turian who hated humans.'_ Isaac smiled slightly and wondered why the illusive man didn't try to recruit him. _'As a result of what happened BAaT was shutdown and he dropped off the grid for a while only to reappear enlisting into the alliance to server for his own reasons. A biotic sentinel who uses L2 implants instead of L3 and leads the marine detail on the Normandy. '_

Isaac closed the file not caring to read anything else about Kaiden, he felt that all of this was a waste of time. He would be getting to know these people eventually himself through interactions if everything went well he didn't need these dossiers to learn information about them. Isaac didn't plan on doing much but staying in the background anyway, this would allow him to work better and get the information he needed to give to the illusive man. He turned his attention to the final dossier, that of Ashley Williams and noted how attractive she was but he quickly got rid of that thought.

Isaac couldn't help but notice that she had many commendations, certifications, and that all of her commanding officers spoke highly of her yet she was still only serviceman third class.

'_Father is General Williams the first human to surrender the garrison at Shanxi to the turians during the first contact war.'_ It then dawned on Isaac that this was the reason why she couldn't move up in rank when she had the knowledge and skills needed. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her as well as disregard the alliance for this fact alone. '_Lost her entire unit on the attack during Eden Prime and was transferred over to the Normandy due to the loss of Corporal Jenkins.'_ Isaac scanned over anything else that could be of use to him but only seeing that she had no biotic abilities what so ever decided that was enough.

Suddenly the shuttle jerked and rattled throwing Isaac from his seat and sending him crashing into floor. He stood up slowly grasping a handle getting his bearings before rushing towards the cockpit door throwing it open. He could see the pilots struggling to fly the shuttle as flashes of blue exploded around them jostling the shuttle even more.

"What the hell is going on?" Isaac screamed over the sound of the explosions and thrusters of the shuttle.

"Geth know we are here and they don't seem to like us intruding, we're doing everything we can to get you as close to the ruins as possible so get your ass ready to jump out. Once you touch ground you're on your own so don't expect pickup." The pilot was rushing his statement as he continued to maneuver the shuttle trying to avoid being hit.

The copilot motioned for him to leave and get ready as he was only serving to distract them. Isaac quickly walked back into the loading compartment and began to check his equipment. He attached his thunder assault rifle, tornado shotgun, stiletto pistol, and hammer sniper rifle to the back of his armor before grabbing standard grenades. He didn't know what to expect down there but he would be damned if he didn't go prepared.

"Get ready we're above the dropzone, we can't land the shuttle so you will have to jump. Good luck."

"I understand do what you can."

The shuttle doors suddenly flew and Isaac only glanced down for a second before jumping cussing up a storm as he rushed towards the ground. As Isaac hit the ground he rolled forward before putting his back to the nearest rock and bringing his assault rifle out. He looked up to watch as the shuttle pull up before it started to shoot towards the sky.

There was a sound almost as if something big was tearing through the air breaking the sound barrier. Isaac could only watch in horror as the shuttle seemed to split in two before disappearing in a bright explosion, the shockwave made Isaac stumbled slightly before he got his footing once again. He could only watch as the fiery debris from the shuttle tumbled to the ground.

'_What the fuck was that?'_ He screamed mentally and as if fate was listening to him, it answered his question. A huge geth ship appeared suddenly over a mountain hovering momentarily before shooting off somewhere where Isaac couldn't follow. _'God dammit, there was no intel on this.'_

The situation had changed dramatically now with the appearance of the geth ship which he guessed was some sort of drop ship. The geth were most likely going to drop troops to search for him or reinforce their forces already here and that meant he didn't have a lot of time. He looked around to take in his surroundings and that's when he noticed how god damn hot it was. He could see rivers and lakes of lava spewing everywhere as well as structures not too far off. Isaac pulled up his map from his omni-tool marking the nearest structure and began to make his way there.

Isaac wasn't even walking for 10 minutes climbing up hills and sliding down when he could hear something undistinguishable in the distant. He climbed his was up to a rocky ledge and looked down upon a mining structure that seemed to lead underground. He slid his assault rifle behind his back before grabbing his hammer sniper rifle and looking through the scope. He scanned slowly and calmly over the area but couldn't see nothing…not geth or anything alive for that matter but he couldn't shake this bad feeling. He switched back to his assault rifle before sliding down the ledge slowly and began to make his way to the mining shaft. Just as he passed a half built structure in front of mining shaft he heard that same undistinguishable sound only directly above him. He felt his body break into a cold sweat before he leapt to the side just as something crashed down exactly where had just been standing.

Isaac brought his rifle to bear and only caught a glimpse of it before it leapt again. His eyes followed as he threw all caution to the wind and sprayed rounds trying to bring it down. One of his rounds must have hit home as the thing crashed to the ground and tried to lift up. He didn't give it a chance and riddled it with accelerator rounds ripping it to pieces. Before he could congratulate himself on his first geth kill a sniper shot whizzed by his face making Isaac dive and roll. His combat experience kicked into effect and he let off a burst at the general direction of the shot noticing three geth running towards him. He smirked before throwing a grenade and waiting a few seconds before detonating.

Two of the geth closes to the grenade were thrown back and into pieces while the third continued its approach unfazed. The geth's rounds were being deflected by his shields but he could tell they were low and he was in a pickle. Isaac decided taking it out now wasn't worth getting hurt and dipped behind cover. As his shield recharged he could hear machine like noise coming from the general direction of the geth and mentally smacked himself in the head.

'_Of course it's going to try to communicate and get more help, gotta hurry.'_ He switched to his shotgun before sticking his head out to try and locate it. Only it had found him…not even 2 feet away was the geth with its flashlight head and menacing rifle.

"FUCK." Isaac screamed and rapidly pulled the trigger of his shotgun as the geth did the same with its pulse rifle. Isaac's first shot blew through its shields while the second blew a hole through its chest making it jerk back but due to this its rounds punched through his shields and one tore through his left shoulder. His left side flung back and his third shot blew the geth's head into pieces of circuitry because of the motion. As the geth's body fell back into the ground, Isaac put his back again the wall of the structure activating his medi-gel and breathing a sigh of relief as it healed his shoulder wound. He gave himself a few seconds testing out his shoulder before walking up to the mining shaft entrance and opening the doors.

"That went better than expected." He stated happily as he switched to his assault rifle again.

The long mining shaft corridor seemed to give off an ominous feeling to Isaac but he shrugged it off and continued forward. Just as he reached the end of the corridor accelerator rounds flew by his face again. A silver geth following the path approached him and tried to rush towards his position. He lit the geth up sending its body tumbling over the walkway and to the ground below. He saw two more geth following the walkway trying to reach him but Isaac noticed a containment cell right by their feet. He placed a few rounds into the cell and was rewarded with an intense bright green explosion that tossed the geth like rag dolls. He waited and watched to see if he could detect any more movement but after a few seconds of nothing he decided to continue. He continued down the walkway before seeing a bright blue bubble that glowed intensely. Isaac continued cautiously and walked into the elevator and took it to the ground level watching as he passed more of the blue bubbles.

As the elevator doors opened he went left and had only taken two steps with three drones shoot up from an opening. Thinking quickly he hurled a grenade and detonated it not caring how close he was to the blast. He was onto his back and his shields gave off the warning of being depleted but he noticed he got the drones. Isaac walked into the second elevator and continued down noticing it spark and crackle but when nothing happened he relaxed. The elevator stopped suddenly sending him hurtling forward and out as he crashed on the ground. He sighed and cursed his life but getting up and looking around. The walkway and beams were a wreck as if a train had come through. He continued down the destroyed walkway before jumping down to the next level.

"Hello…is there anyone there, can you help me?" A voice cried out to him.

Isaac wiped around instantly with his rifle pointed before noticing the giant blue bubble. He glanced harder and noticed an Asari floating in midair stuck in another bubble.

"Can you hear me out there? Please help!" She cried out.

'_Okay Isaac…time to play the part.' _

"I can hear you. Are you okay?" He replied back to her.

She nodded at him."Yes I'm fine but I'm stuck in this prothean security device and I cannot move. Please can you find a way to get me out?" She pleaded.

"Alright sit tight miss, I'll get you out of there as quickly as I can."

"Be careful, there was a krogan with geth here and I activated the towers defense when they appeared to escape but I must have pressed the wrong button. They might still be here somewhere!"

Isaac nodded at her before turning around continuing down the walkway.

'_Okay Isaac think…how can you get to her to let her out?'_

As he continued he looked around before spotting what looked like a giant laser positioned against a rock. He snapped his fingers and smiled and jogged down to the laser. He looked at the controls trying to get a feel for them when a rocket exploded against the side of the machine sending dust and rocks into his face. Startled he backtracked firing blindly into the dust as he hide behind the laser. He wanted to punch himself for not keeping his eyes open and being aware of his surroundings and now he was paying the price. The geth weren't letting up there fire and as rockets and accelerator rounds punched the side of the laser. He mentally prepared himself before running out screaming strafing sideways. The closest red geth ate his rounds to the chest before falling to the floor. A rocket whizzed by his face hitting something behind as him poured fire onto the remaining geth. The two remaining geth couldn't handle his well placed shots and both fell within seconds of each other. Isaac silently thanked the illusive man for providing him with some of the best weapons and enhances because it made his life a hell of a lot easier. He turned his attention back to the laser pressing a sequence of buttons which activated the laser.

'_Damn, I didn't know I was so good at guessing on which buttons to press.'_ He smiled and shrugged as the laser burned a hole to reveal an opening to the prothean ruin. He hurried inside before running into a lift, wasting no time he hit the activation button and was brought up. As the lift stopped he could see the asari suspended in midair.

Isaac deciding to be funny asked."How's it hanging?" She turned her head towards him with a confused look upon her face.

"How did you get in here? I didn't think there was a way past the barrier!"

Deep down he sighed sadly that she didn't get his joke."There was a mining laser but that's not important. I need to get you out of here."

"There is a button over there that should let me out."

Isaac looked to his left and hit the only button he could. He heard her drop as the security device deactivated. He turned towards her and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you…I thought I was going to be trapped there forever. I am Liara T'Soni. I was studying the prothean ruins when the geth struck." He smiled and nodded at her.

"No problem miss, the name is Isaac Haymond. I was hired to find out why this mining facility went dark. I'm glad I made it in time to help you." Isaac felt that his lie should be sufficient enough for now."Do you know of a way we can get out of here?"

"There should be an elevator back in the center of the ruins. I believe it can take us out."

He nodded and was about to tell her to follow him when the sound of the elevator or lift coming up startled him.

"Get behind me!" Isaac yelled thinking it was more geth. He positioned Liara behind him and brought up his rifle ready to blast the geth away when instead of geth stood three people. He counted two humans and one turian as they leveled their guns of him and slowly approached.

'_So he finally arrives.' _

"You don't look like geth but that doesn't mean I won't shoot! Who the hell are you?" Isaac called out not lowering his rifle for a second to keep up appearances.

The three figures approached Isaac and Liara cautiously with each step. "My name is Commander Shepard with the Alliance and as well as a Spectre for the council. We are looking for the scientist Liara T'Soni." Shepard lowered his weapon as he stepped forward.

Isaac slightly lowered his weapon and glanced back at Liara to get her opinion. She looked briefly at him before nodding and slowly stepped from behind him.

"I am Liara T'Soni…why are you looking for me?" He could tell she was nervous and he didn't know just what Shepard wanted with her but he couldn't take chances. He kept his gun in a ready position just in case and watched Shepard's two companions.

"Your mother is working for Saren and we are trying to stop him. Do you know anything about this?"

"My mother is working for Saren? I haven't spoken to my mother in quite some time and I would never side with that turian bastard." Liara spoke it with much conviction and even Isaac found it hard to doubt what she said.

Shepard was silent for a moment before nodding and turning his gaze from Liara to him. Isaac stared back trying to read his expression but couldn't due to his visor blocking most of his face.

"Who are you and who do you work for? No civilian goes around carrying weapons and can take down multiple geth units." His tone was suspicious and Isaac could already guess where this would lead.

"My name is…" A deep rumbling sound interrupted him. He turned around and saw rocks falling from the cave ceiling. "Shit no time Shepard. We need to get out of here. The mining laser I used must have made the cave unstable. Follow me Liara said there was an elevator back here."

Isaac rushed passed Shepard and his two companions and ran to the lift they had come up from. The others followed closely behind him and formed around him as he pressed the up button on the lift. As they drifted up Isaac was thinking fast of a story to use to clear up suspicion.

"I still can't believe my moth-. Why would Saren be looking for me?" Liara asked.

"Saren is looking for the conduit. Think fast Mrs. Prothean expert." Isaac noted Shepard's companions insulting tone of voice. Isaac knew instantly that this was Ashley Williams. He glanced at her and she noticed before fixing him with a hard glare.

"The Conduit? But I don't know—"The ruins shook once again stopping her from speaking.

"Joker, fix on my location now and bring the Normandy for pickup. Get here NOW!" Shepard yelled into his comm device.

The lift ascended quickly upwards passing by more prothean shield barriers. Isaac couldn't help but wonder what these were supposed to protect them from. The lift slowly stopped as it reached the top floor making each of them stumble.

"We got company Shepard." The turian squad member stated.

Sure enough coming down the ramp was a krogan battlemaster as well as three geth units. The krogan battlemaster stopped a little ways from them.

"Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun." He called out to them.

"We don't have time for this Shepard…this place is coming down soon." He whispered in the Commander's direction.

Shepard nodded slowly before suddenly glowing blue and throwing the nearest geth into the air. Everyone scrambled ducking for cover trying to avoid being shot. The krogan battlemaster was the only one who didn't walking slow and confidently firing shot after shot of his shotgun towards the location where Liara and Shepard were hiding together. Isaac turned his attention to the right most geth and riddled it with rounds before ducking a biotic attack from the krogan. The turian and Ashley were handling the other two geth so he turned his attention to the krogan. He could hear it laughing as it continued to fire its shotgun and threw in a biotic attack occasionally. He ran forward switching to his shotgun quickly and slid behind a beam closet to the krogan.

"Hey dumbass, watch your back!" Isaac yelled stepping out from his cover and firing into the krogan's back. The krogan turned swiftly surprising Isaac before he felt himself tossed and slammed into a wall. He groaned looking up and watched as Shepard, the turian and Ashley surrounded the krogan firing at him from different sides battering him down until the krogan tipped over dead, his body covered in his blood. Isaac slowly stood up and stumbled to the exit as everyone gathered. The rumbling from the ruins was getting louder and he knew they had little time. The shield fell and as if it was a race they all began to run as fast as they could to the exit. Isaac was lagging behind a bit as each person ran for their lives, the crumbling rocks from the ceiling crashed around them. He noticed Ashley stumbled in front of him and almost fell but without missing a beat Isaac leaned down grabbed her and shoved her forward to get her running again.

They had just reached mining shaft to go back up when the walkway disappeared behind him throwing dust towards the entrance and into the sky. As they came to a stop outside the ruins he couldn't help but stop to catch his breath. That was when Isaac noticed the giant geth machine lying destroyed before him as well as other geth units laying discarded. He couldn't help but be amazed at what Shepard could do if the face of overwhelming odds. Isaac looked towards the sky and noticed what he guessed was the Normandy hanging in the air above them.

"We have much to discuss and doubt you two want to stay here." Shepard motioned to the Normandy.

Liara glanced at Isaac before he shrugged and they followed Shepard towards his ship…

Isaac was standing near the door of the Normandy's CIC room as Shepard's whole squad sat in chairs positioned in a circle located in the middle of the room. He had let Liara take the 6th seat seeing as how he was still a gentleman and didn't care to stand. When coming in to the Normandy he had glanced around only a bit to take in everything around him but he knew if he stared too long at something he would be in trouble. He wasn't out of the woods just yet and if he screwed this up the Illusive man would be disappointed.

"The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry out sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." A voice called out over the intercom. Isaac couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asked the tone in her voice hinting that was she was mad and confused.

"Joker saved our lives back there, he's earned the right for a few bad jokes." Shepard answered.

Liara fidgeted in her seat a bit."I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species but I am grateful to you. Isaac and you all saved my life back there. Not just from the volcano but the geth who would have killed me.

Shepard turned his attention to Isaac stepping towards him gazing at him. Isaac guessed he was trying to get a read on him but Isaac had been trained in this sort of thing. He noticed everyone in the room was glancing at him now and knew it was his moment of truth.

"Don't worry about it Liara, I was glad to help." Isaac smiled at her before turning his attention to Shepard.

"I have a few questions for you Isaac. How did you come to be on that planet? What were you doing there in the first place? How is it you could take down a squad of geth by yourself?" Shepard's gaze was piercing now and Isaac couldn't help but smile. He always did under pressure or when things got rough, it was how he functioned. He could tell everyone was confused about why he smiled and Ashley seemed to glare at him even more.

"Sorry but I can't help but smile when I'm under pressure. Don't ask me why. I am not your enemy so don't treat me like one."He stared at each person dead in their eyes for a few seconds before turning his gaze to Shepard."My name is Isaac Haymond and you can say I'm a contractor but that's just a fancy word for mercenary. I was given a mission to find out why the colonist stopped reporting in and when I got there my ride was destroyed. I followed readings that lead me to the ruins where I found and saved Liara.

"That doesn't explain how you took down those geth Isaac." Shepard's voice was calm and steady but even Isaac could sense the threat deep down.

"If you must know in this line of work you can't be a pushover. I've done a lot of jobs for various people and I have been rewarded for my efforts. I trained and exercised my body to be able to handle any situation and if needed meet it with deadly force." He crossed his arms across his chest as he finished.

Shepard seemed to accept what he said for now but he knew his excuse would only last for so long.

"Let's get back to the main issue. Do you know why Saren wanted to you? Do you know anything about the Conduit?" The marine named Kaiden asked Liara.

"I only know that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the last fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them." Liara seemed almost excited as she explained this to them and Isaac couldn't help but think she resembled a child.

"I have my own theory as to why they disappeared." Shepard replied interrupting Liara.

"With all due respect Commander, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support any of them. The protheans left only small things behind. It is like someone came along after the protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part to my findings. The protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them" said Liara.

Isaac felt his blood run cold as he processed what Liara just said. He then realized the Illusive man needed to hear this and that all of this was somehow tied to Saren and the geth.

'_The Illusive man was correct in thinking something bigger was going on. That means I can't fail now.'_ thought Isaac.

"How do you know this? I thought you said there was little information left behind." asked Shepard.

"This comes from over 50 years of research. I cannot point to one specific case but it's the subtle feeling I have gotten. That this cycle began long before the protheans and this cycle has been repeated many times." Liara answered back.

"What cycle are you talking about?" the turian asked Liara.

"The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. A great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The protheans rose up from a single world until their civilization spanned the entire galaxy. Yet they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before them! Their greatest achievements…the mass relays and the citadel…is based on the technology of those before them. Then like the other civilizations they disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why. " Liara said as she finished.

Isaac was once again shocked at what she said and could only wonder if the Illusive man knew something this big was coming. He had contacts in high places, a spy on the Normandy already, as well as a vast amount of resources. He must have known this through his own research from his teams all over the galaxy.

Shepard then stepped forward and said something that made Isaac stand up a bit straighter. "They were wiped out by a rice of sentient machines. The Reapers." He spoke it calmly and with much confidence.

'_The reapers? This doesn't sound good at all._'

"The – The reapers? I have never heard of this. How do you know? What evidence do you have?" Liara asked confused and baffled by Shepard's statement.

"There was damaged beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out what it all means." Shepard stated.

Isaac glanced sharply at Shepard trying to read Shepard's expression but was drawing a blank.

"Visions? Yes…the beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to capture a working beacon even if badly damage is worth the risk. The beacons are intended to react only to prothean physiology. What you received information you received would have been confused and unclear. I am amazed you were able to make anything out. Lesser minds would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed, Commander." She said as she finished. There was something in her tone and a look in her eye that made Isaac almost roll his eyes.

'_Looks like someone is developing a little crush.'_ There wasn't time for this crap at the moment honestly. Ashley seemed to share his sentiments as she interrupted Liara before she could continue.

"This isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit." He could hear the venom in her voice and couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes this time.

"Of course. You are right I'm sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Sadly, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit or Saren." Liara replied defensively.

"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture but I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you." This statement shocked Isaac as he looked at Shepard confused by what he said.

"Thank you Commander. Saren might come after me again and I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship. And my knowledge of the protheans might be useful later on."

"Her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts." The krogan stated speaking for the first time.

Isaac nodded realizing as an Asari she would be gifted with amazing biotic abilities but he had yet to see them himself.

"We already got every other non-human species on board. Might as well add an Asari to the team."

"Thank you, Commander. I am very gratef—." Liara stumbled slightly almost falling over until Shepard rushed over and caught her in his arms.

Ashley scowled even more and if looks could kill Liara would be dead 10 times over.

"I am sorry but I am feeling a bit light-headed." Liara said standing straighter. Isaac noticed her hands were still on Shepard's arms using him for balance.

"When is the last time you ate or slept? Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you."Kaiden replied.

"It is probably just mental exhaustion and the shock of discovering the Protheans' true fate. I need some time to process this all. This will give me the chance to think things over. Are we finished here Commander?" asked Liara as she wobbled a bit.

"Yes you are done here Liara. Kaiden, why don't you show her the way to Dr. Chakwas for an examination." Shepard said turning his attention to Isaac.

Kaiden nodded before stepping up and leading Liara past Isaac and out of his sight. He turned his focus back to Shepard before breathing deeply.

"After what I just heard that I'm sure I wasn't suppose to know I want to join you as well Commander. If you are indeed correct about these visions with the Reapers then I think my skills and abilities can help combat this threat." said Isaac.

Shepard stood there for a moment regarding him before nodding and sticking his hand out to shake Isaac's.

"I was going to ask you to join anyway. What about your previous employer?" Shepard asked.

"I will just fill him in on what happened. The safety of the galaxy should come before personal profit or gain."

"I see, well good to have you Isaac but know this. You now answer to me directly and you follow my orders to the letter. Got it?" Shepard's personality seemed to switch from nice guy to leader in a second.

Isaac nodded shaking his hand before mentally smirking and couldn't help but think everything had gone according to plan.

"There should be space in the garage you could use. Ashley could you please show him the way? Everyone dismissed." said Shepard.

She seemed to nod stiffly before ushering Isaac to follow her. The turian, krogan, and quarian who had not spoken a single word during the meeting followed them. They turned left before descending down steps into the elevator waiting for them. It was quiet and awkward to say the least as no one spoke. Ashley seemed to be radiating anger and Isaac could guess why. Once the elevator stopped they each got out, going to their separate spots. The quarian disappeared into what he got was the engine room as the turian stopped next to the mako and proceeded to work on it. The krogan walked towards a group of containers before leaning against them and glaring at those around him. Isaac stood there confused for a second looking around wondering where he should go when he spotted an area just directly in front of the mako in a dark corner. He smiled and thought it was perfect and leaned against the wall before sliding down to the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief at everything going well so far, now he needed to somehow inform the Illusive man of his success.

The pounding of boots brought him back to the real world and noticed Ashley Williams standing before him. She seemed to be sizing him up if he guessed correctly and wondered why.

"We don't have a locker for you to put your equipment in as well as adequate sleeping arrangements for you." Said she simply.

Isaac nodded at her."Don't worry about it, I'm use to sleeping anywhere so I don't mind it at all. I'll just keep my weapons over here I guess."

She continued to glance at him and it was beginning to unnerve him just quite a bit wondering what was wrong.

"Thank you…" she mumbled softly.

"Huh?" now Isaac was incredibly confused and lost.

"Back in the ruins when we were escaping. When I tripped you saved me from falling and probably saved my life."

"Oh…that? I'm glad I could help… but don't mention it. I was just doing what was right." He shrugged as he finished.

"Well thank you all the same. If…you need anything just let me know." She replied before walking quickly away to a terminal station across the way.

Isaac sat there stunned for a second before smiling and shaking his head. His expression quickly changed as he began trying to think of a way to inform the Illusive man of the Reapers…

* * *

><p>Author: Well it took a month to update but that was because I got lazy to my apologize. Here is Chapter 2 and I hope you enjoy. Sorry for the grammar errors I lost my proofreader. I also apologize for all the talking and using lines from the game. I will only be doing this for main parts of the the story but even then it will be changed to incorporate my character as well as changes due to surprises. I will also be doing small chapters for side missions to keep them coming while main parts will be long. Until the next chapter.<p> 


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